Author: Laura Collins Hughes

Lying Back, Thinking Of England, And Taking Notes

“Sex writing, as we all know so well from the Literary Review’s annual Bad Sex Awards, is hard to do well. But for women, it now seems it’s getting even harder, thanks to recent remarks from Kate Copstick, the new publisher of the Erotic Review, who’s declared her intention to scale back on female writers in the magazine – apparently, we can’t write about sex because we don’t like it that much.”

Sci-Fi Author Alastair Reynolds Signs Million-Pound Deal

“As banks struggle and businesses collapse, the science fiction writer Alastair Reynolds is making his own contribution to the flagging UK economy, signing an unprecedented ten-book deal with Gollancz worth £1m. Reynolds, who has published eight novels with the Orion imprint Gollancz since his 2000 debut, Revelation Space, said he was ‘amazed and thrilled’ to commit himself to the same publisher for the next decade.”

West End Is Recession-Resistant? Not On Close Inspection.

“Drama’s apparent side-stepping of the recession is not quite what it seems: in fact, the true nature of this renaissance is deeply depressing. … At the moment, there is not a single play in the West End being staged for the first time. Crucially, given that this theatrical busyness is being billed as resistance to the financial crisis, the economics underpinning it are highly suspect.”

Skylight Opera’s Firing Fiasco Didn’t Have To Be One

Skylight Opera Theatre’s decision to eliminate the position of artistic director, in the process jettisoning its beloved and creatively successful a.d., Bill Theisen, has been a public-relations debacle. Even worse, if the company’s intent all along was to merge the artistic- and managing-director jobs, “reduce fixed personnel cost and … streamline the flow chart,” that could have been accomplished “without poisoning their own well.” Here’s how.

Off-B’way Second Stage Theatre Losing Executive Director

“The current exec director of Off Broadway’s Second Stage Theater, Ellen Richard, will depart her post at the end of the month. No reason was given for the move, and a replacement has not been named. Richard, who has been at Second Stage for three years, leaves as the org has quietly embarked on a capital campaign to fund the $35 million purchase of Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater.”

Small Theatre’s Demise Leaves Needed Funding For Others

“A small Philadelphia theater company called Hotel Obligado folded in December – which ended up, oddly, being good news. After producing offbeat and new work for eight years, Hotel Obligado closed with a surplus of about $5,000 – which has become its legacy, funding the city’s newest theater prize, the Hotel Obligado Audience Choice Award for New Work. A $1,000 chunk of it will be given to one of five small local companies tomorrow night….”

Millennium Park’s Van Berkel Pavilion Is A Marvel

Fear not, traditionalists: Amsterdam architect Ben van Berkel’s temporary pavilion in Millennium Park “is at once thoughtful and delightful, packing just enough bling to stand up to the park’s star attractions — the spitting, oversize faces of the Crown Fountain and the mesmerizing sky and skyline reflections of ‘Cloud Gate.’ Like those two populist works of public art, it is thoroughly interactive.”

Tasha Tudor’s Children Clash In Court Over Burying Her

“A year after the death of famed New England illustrator Tasha Tudor, the family battle over her estate, which seemed like it could not get any uglier, has taken a turn for the worse. The artist’s grown children, already at odds over her will, are now fighting in Vermont Probate Court over whether and how to bury their mother. Tudor, who died a year ago today, said expressly in her will that she did not want a funeral.”